Asthma and cat owners?!
Question: Same 18 y.o. cat---
I just got diagnosed with asthma this month. The asthma came from systemic candida after a triple route of anti-botics...I've been sick a lot!
So the same grumpy grandma is ready to boot the cat based on my asthma. I don't have asthma attacks around the cat. I have them when I get too hot (eating and drinking) or too cold (winter weather). I did get very cold while I was with the cat. I had petted her slam up in my face (her choice). And then after an hour, I felt my chest was cold...cough, cough, cough! I started have a spell (as I call it).
It wasn't the cat --- was it?
Can an asthma suffer not have pet issues?
Answers: Same 18 y.o. cat---
I just got diagnosed with asthma this month. The asthma came from systemic candida after a triple route of anti-botics...I've been sick a lot!
So the same grumpy grandma is ready to boot the cat based on my asthma. I don't have asthma attacks around the cat. I have them when I get too hot (eating and drinking) or too cold (winter weather). I did get very cold while I was with the cat. I had petted her slam up in my face (her choice). And then after an hour, I felt my chest was cold...cough, cough, cough! I started have a spell (as I call it).
It wasn't the cat --- was it?
Can an asthma suffer not have pet issues?
Allergy-triggered asthma is often caused by pet dander, but your symptoms don't agree with this. To be sure, have you doctor refer you to an allergist and then you can be tested and know whether your cat is a problem or not.
---EDIT---
I have allergy-triggered asthma, but it is primarily pollen, house dust, and mold that set me off. I have a mild allergy to cats but I've found that if I control my exposure to the first three, then I have no problems with cats.
With the candida diagnosis, I would tend to recomend being triply catious with mold and mildew (like candida, these are fungi). There are two primary spots to watch out for: food gone bad in the fridge/garbage and the bathroom. Be scrupulous about keeping these areas antiseptic. Wear a pollen filter mask if you have to clean either one or carry out the garbage (your local drug store will have them).
By no means throw out the cat, unless your doctor and allergist say to. Gramma isn't wrong to suspect the cat, but she isn't necessarily right, either. It does no good to get rid of generic asthma triggers, you have to get rid of the ones that affect YOU. Your doctor is your ally in identifying these triggers, but you may need to have longer discussions with him/her than you are used to in order to arrive at the truth. Consider scheduling a special appointment for this purpose.
---Double EDIT (based on your additional details)---
It sounds as if you and your doctor are not communicating well. I'd say, try to bring this to his/her attention and challenge him/her to do better (you're the one who isn't feeling well, after all, how are you supposed to be articulate when you can't breathe?). If you can't resolve the communication issues, find another doctor (but try to get a referral to an allergist first - the candida tie-in really sounds like a mold allergy to me and an allergist can determine whether or not this is your issue very quickly).
I know it is a long story, but it applies here...
My son was diagnosed with asthma when he was 6 months old. My daughter had always had a cat. The cat didn't seem to bother him, so I didn't think anything about it. By the time my son was 7 years old, we realized that something was irritating his asthma, so we had major allergy testing done. It turned out that he was "sensitive" to cats. I knew that getting rid of the cat would be tragic to my daughter, so I asked the doctor if there were any other options to try before getting rid of the cat. He told us to make my sons room off limits to the cat (keep the door closed at all times), so he could be free of the cat irriatation while he slept. He told me to vacuum the rest of the house every other day to reduce the cat hairs in the environment, and if there was one location where the cat "hung out" a lot to vacuum it daily. He also told me to limit my son's direct interaction with the cat, to avoid the location where the cat liked to nap - "specific spot on the couch, and have him wash his hands immediately if he touched the cat.
Once I started the "cat treatment" in my house, my son's asthma problems were cut in half. He is 21 now and has lived away from the cat for 3 years. His asthma is no different now then it was while still at home as a teenager so I feel the "cat treatment" of our house worked for him.